Amazon Planning Memphis Distribution Center, Sources Say

By Patrick Lantrip

Memphis is poised to land a massive Amazon distribution facility just north of the state line in Southeast Shelby County, according to multiple sources familiar with the project.

The Daily News first reported last week that Atlanta-based developer IDI Gazeley is launching a new large-scale commercial warehouse less than two miles from the Memphis International Airport, which appears to be the site that Amazon has targeted for its new fulfillment center.

Unrelated to Amazon’s highly publicized search for a second headquarters, Amazon’s proposed fulfillment center will be located on a 139-acre tract of vacant land near the intersection of Holmes and Tchulahoma roads.

(Patrick Lantrip/The Daily News)

While no specific information on the project’s square footage has surfaced, IDI previously submitted a plat to city officials in 2007 detailing how a 1.1 million-square-foot facility would fit on the parcel.

According to that document, the building would stand at a height of 45 feet and feature space for 194 trailers and a 300-car parking lot.

These specifications are in line with recent fulfillment centers Amazon has announced around the county, including a 1 million-square-foot facility in Shelby, Michigan; an 855,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Staten Island, New York; and a 650,000-square-foot facility in Euclid, Ohio. These fulfillment centers, which have all been announced in the last month, are expected to result in 1,000 to 2,250 new jobs.

While this would be Memphis’ first Amazon fulfillment center in Memphis, the Seattle-based company operates several Tennessee facilities, including Chattanooga, Charleston, Lebanon, Murfreesboro and Nashville.

Amazon is expected to apply for a PILOT (payment-in-lieu-of-tax) to offset the facility’s construction cost.

The property is being listed by Scott Pahlow with the commercial real estate advisory firm Newmark Knight Frank. Newmark Knight Frank and IDI were unavailable for comment